Forsaken
“What am I, you ask? Well, '' I could not say for sure: for I am both living and dead, abandoned and'' not abandoned at the same time, and more and less than my former self. For one, my body aches for the comfort of eternal slumber; but for another, my heart yearns for the wonders of a perpetual existence……” —'Markus' Weber, scholar, historian, philosopher and rector of the Cult of the Forgotten Shadow, commenting on the nature of their existence The Forsaken, or at times the Undead Forsaken or simply the Undead, are what remains of the former glorious and powerful human kingdom of Lordaeron, destroyed and left in ruin following Arthas’ disastrous wake, the majority of its population slaughtered and raised through the Dark Arts to be enslaved under the iron will of the fallen prince, committing countless atrocities as mindless servants loyal to a dark cause. After being freed from the will of the dark prince by Sylvanas Windrunner during the Third War, the Forsaken are finally left to forge their own fates. Although their minds were liberated, their hearts and bodies were not: abandoned by the world of the living and the dead, they were trapped in a state of perpetual limbo and darkness. With thousands of atrocities etched in their eyes, their minds were burdened with horror and guilt; their senses dulled by the touch of death, forever unable to feel the warmth of the sun or savor the taste of fine wine; their faith lost, along with all sense of direction and pride that filled their lives when they still breathed. They were truly Forsaken, as the Banshee Queen aptly renamed their fallen race, a lost people of a lost nation. Although technically encompassing any reanimated individual freed from the grasp of the Lich King, the majority of the population remains to be the former humans of Lordaeron, with a considerable number, including their revered liberator and queen, of former high elves of Quel’thalas. Their numbers currently are around a million. The curse, or blessing considered by some, of undeath had greatly influenced the physical attributes of the Forsaken, else wise they are largely similar to their former selves, many retaining the personalities of their previous lives. However, the torment the race had been through had left many of its members bitter and cynical, accompanied by the previous belligerent and aggressive disposition of Lordaeron, the Forsaken have become ruthless and cold, holding aversion to almost all living beings. Furthermore, their cadaverous appearance usually arouse disgust and contempt in most living races, and are abandoned by their previous allies, who consider them little different from the scourge. The Forsaken, as former Lordaeronians, are proud of their heritage, and consider themselves the last true descendants of the Aeonic-speaking population that originally settled in Tirisfal. Abandoning Common used by their allies, the Forsaken embrace their Aeonic heritage by adopting the black market jargon Gutterspeak, a mixed language based on High Common, Thalassian and a bit of Dwarvish. In battle they still bear the banners of their fallen kingdom, and in formal documents they are still referred to as the Kingdom of Lordaeron. They try to return to their way of life before they were reanimated and strive to preserve their culture by establishing a settlement just beneath their former capital, and embrace their former ideas of civil service, aristocracy and knighthood and chivalry, albeit twisted in mockery of the ways of the living. Many priests and paladins return to faith in Light, although also twisted in a rebellious mindset that their faith abandoned them, they now worship its other side, Shadow. Those who still hold faith in their previous religion remain avid followers of their former beliefs. The physique of the Forsaken have significantly changed compared to their former lives: they do not need to breath, eat, sleep or drink, nor could they feel any sort of physical stimulation effectively, if not at all. Their muscles are in a constant state of atrophy and decay, barely held together by the dark necromancy that sustains their state of undeath. Like all other undead creatures, the power of the Light is extremely painful when used upon them, not to mention when wielded by them, which makes the Forsaken priests and paladins individuals of extreme willpower and resolve. Otherwise, they are very similar to what they once were, capable of advanced mental processing, logical deduction, sophisticated lingual expression, as well as displaying a wide range of emotions. Similar to their living counterparts, the Forsaken are a social race, preferring to be in company of one another, especially with those of their own. They value cooperation, persistence and hardworking, and retain their natural curiosity towards their environment. They are also as self-centered as their living counterparts, albeit in a much more united way, advocating social values such as the obliteration of the individual, devotion towards the social community and loyalty. History Politics Government As remembrance of their former ways of life, the Forsaken retain most of the governmental structure of the Kingdom of Lordaeron, keeping roughly the same offices and aristocratic families before the culling. However, many of the noble houses are either completely destroyed beyond all restoration or still under the sway of the Lich King, and with the royal bloodline gone, the seat of the monarch lies empty without claimant. Despite the tireless efforts of the Forsaken, they were compelled to face the truth that they were hardly the proud human kingdom they once were. Under such circumstances, the Forsaken looked towards their great liberator and savior, the reanimated Sylvanas Windrunner, now the self-proclaimed “Banshee Queen”, as their source of hope for returning to the former glory of their cursed race, and dedicated their hearts and minds to their Dark Lady. Most of the Forsaken are fearsomely devoted to their Banshee Queen to nearly the state of worship, even extending such a dedication to their daily regards. Loyal beyond question, many of them would die to protect their great leader. Although self-claimant as “Queen”, there are no progenies nor relatives heir to Sylvanas; since the status of undeath grants her near immortality, and that the loyalty of the Forsaken lies only to her as an individual instead of a royal bloodline, the Kingdom of Lordaeron could no longer technically be considered a feudal monarchy. Instead it is considered a conciliatory totalitarian state, where an extremely large portion of power is controlled by the Banshee Queen and her Leiters Council, a cooperative of advisors, military commanders, religious leaders, court officials and aristocrats, ruled by four noble lords: two former human and two former elven. They serve as the supreme leaders of the nation and dissidents to the system are few, as those who are usually face fates worse than death. Despite established as the Kingdom of Lordaeron, their political status is refused to be acknowledged by nations of the Alliance, who look down upon the Forsaken as vermin little different to the scourge, ceasing all diplomatic procedures and enforcing an embargo on the nation, this has resulted in mass boycott towards Alliance goods and severe deterioration in diplomatic relations between the kingdom and its former allies, and is one of the leading factors that the kingdom joined the Horde. The Banshee Queen The Banshee Queen, often referred to as the Dark Lady, is the honorific title to the current ruler of the Kingdom of Lordaeron, Sylvanas Windrunner. Nominally her decision-making power is supreme; however, in actuality, most of her power is delegated to the Leiters Council, only personally dealing with foreign policy and issues of state. In theory, she does not hold power over the military, which is vested with the Grand Executor. However, the Deathstalkers answer only to the Dark Lady herself. Thus far, however, the majority of the Forsaken holds unquestioning loyalty towards their Dark Lady. This would suggest that the Banshee Queen possesses overwhelming control over the nation and therefore whose rule is supreme. Sylvanas, as the liberator of the Forsaken, has an immense cult of personality surrounding her; being touted and revered nation-wide, and is an inspiration to all Forsaken. Her political shrewdness and determination has secured her people a steadfast position amongst the ranks of the Horde, who in turn regard her with suspicious eyes, and is recognized as a ruthless strongwoman across the world. The Leiteren Council The Leiteren (“heads” in High Common) Council is the collection of advisors serving under the Banshee Queen, established to aid in her rule of the country and are held responsible for all domestic, diplomatic, economic and military decisions within the country. The Leiters Council is headed by four aristocratic lords, two former human and two former high elf, representing the two largest population groups of the current Kingdom of Lordaeron; the rest of the council consists of a collection of twenty two individuals, including the two Archvicars of the Cult of the Forgotten Shadow; the Grand Apothecary of the Royal Apothecary Society and his aide; the Grand Executor and the Champion of the Banshee Queen; the Meister of Merchants; the Meister of Scholars; the Meister of Ships and the Meister of Constructors, as well as an assortment of minor advisors and fallen nobles. The council convenes every fourteen nights in the Chamber of Whispers just beyond the Black Hall in the Royal Quarters, the council will appeal to the four noble lords, who sit upon a balcony in the front of the room. A seat in middle of the noble lords is reserved for the Banshee Queen, who would be present when she is available. In her absence, the four lords will decide on her behalf amongst themselves. When the lords are divergent in opinion, they could propose a vote to pass an enactment in which at least thirteen votes are required to pass. Diplomacy Economy Culture Language Religion Society Although outrightly degraded as creations of darkness and mindless slaves of an evil tyrant by their former allies, the social system of the Forsaken, ironically, is much more liberal and equal than many of the hegemonic human nations. It associates members of the society of equal value, regardless of faith, origin, social status or profession, all members of the Forsaken are considered brothers-and-sisters-in-death; and the aristocracy merely serves as a symbol of their past while at the same time act as national leaders. Since death had stripped them of most of their mortal senses, their requirement for material wealth and enjoyment have dimmed, if not vanished altogether; thus, all property and wealth of the nation belongs to state authority, where it is used to fund the construction of the nation and feed the Forsaken war machine. Since the population of the nation is no longer living, and the land cursed by black magic, nearly unable to grow anything of edible value, agriculture has been abandoned altogether in favor for a larger labor force in manufacture, alchemy, military service and research into the arcane arts. Most of those who perviously made a living as meagre peasants in life could now find employment as merchants, craftsmen, tailors, even pursue education to become an Archvicar, a Black Cloak, or even a Grand Apothecary or Warlock-Engineer. The idea of a society that is established on the contribution of individuals instead of predetermined social classes, would seem preposterous in the eyes of most of the human nations. As descendents of the Aeonics, the people of Lordaeron are not only known for their pride and damning ego, they are also known for their diligence, persistance and scholarly rigorousness. These qualities, being carried on to the Forsaken, makes them some of the most progressive people in Azeroth, able to understand and master many of the dark magi-science used by the scourge to develop their terrible armies. The Forsaken value education and knowledge, as the Royal School of Alchemy and the Dark Arts, its campus situated in both the Magic Quarter and the Apothecarium, is one of the most budding academic schools dedicated to alchemy, metallurgy, engineer magery, theoretic and applied necromancy in the world. The armed dead of the Forsaken armies are strictly disciplined and systematically trained, combining drilling methods of both Lordaeron and Thalassian origins, and are equipped with weapons forged with meticulous care using materials designed and crafted in the laboratories of the Apothecarium. Although most of the population is now taking residence in the bellows of their putrid under-kingdom, there is still a portion of the population who refuses to leave the home of their lives, where they lived, died and were reanimated. These families take up residence in former townships guarded by restless members of the Deathguard, keeping vigil against the wild creatures that would harass the population. These residents strive as much as possible to restore their villages and now many of these townships provide lodging and basic service to Horde travelers staying on their lands since the construction of the zeppelin tower near Brill, which establishes a commercial and transportation airway between Orgrimmar and the Undercity. Military Forsaken Infantry Deathguards '– Numerous and undead, the Deathguards make up the bulk of the Forsaken army. Capable of enduring vastly harsher conditions than living troops, the tireless Deathguard can march for days, even weeks. Former farmers or members of local militias, they are largely expendable; given most basic training and many armed with the chipped and decaying weapons they held when they died. They are tasked with mundane tasks such as guarding military outposts or performing long, boring border patrols, leaving more important and sensitive operations to elite forces. '''Throat Seekers '– 'Deathwarders '– The nickname given to the Royal Strumabteilung, a division of light assault troopers tasked with breaking enemy defense lines. Hand-picked from the ranks of Deathguards who distinguished themselves in battle for skill and willingness to sacrifice, these Forsaken troopers are lightly armored in mail and leather and carry wickedly barbed short blades forged in the infernal furnaces of the Apothecarium, as well as bandoliers of grenades and explosives infused with dark magic. They are fully dedicated to the frontlines and are prepared to die again to aid their comrades in pushing forward. 'Defilers '– One of the most fearsome regiments in the Forsaken army, they are two-body weapons teams armed with a blightspreader, a vile weapon that showers foes with corrosive liquids containing plague agents. 'Luitdorf Troopers '– Heavily armored shock troopers armed with the "Luitdorf Weapon", a fearsome hand-held device that discharges black-blue arcs of lightning enhanced by dark magic when fired. 'Aseptics '– The armed branch of the Cult of the Forgotten Shadow, these fanatics are as fearless as they are dead as they seek true death to ascend and become one with the shadow. 'Dreadguards '– Forsaken Cavalry 'Dark Knights '– Forsaken Warbeasts 'Plague Hounds '– 'Giant Bats '– '''Abominations – Forsaken War Machines 'Plague Splatterer '– 'Luitdorf Cannon '– Forsaken Lords 'Executors '– 'Dark Rangers '– 'Archvicar of the Forgotten Shadow '– 'Master Apothecary '– Forsaken Heroes 'Warlock-Engineers '– 'Deathstalkers '– 'Banshee '– 'Black Champions '–